Exploring the relationship between the gut microbiome and host genome in
posttraumatic stress disorder
Abstract
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may develop following trauma
exposure; however, not all trauma-exposed individuals develop PTSD,
suggesting the presence of susceptibility and resilience factors. The
gut microbiome and host genome, which are interconnected, have been
implicated in the aetiology of PTSD. However, their interaction has yet
to be investigated in a South African population. Using genome-wide
genotype data and 16S rRNA gene V4 sequencing data from 53
trauma-exposed controls and 74 PTSD cases, we observed no significant
association between the host genome and summed abundance of
Mitsuokella, Odoribacter, Catenibacterium, and Olsenella,
previously reported as associated with PTSD status in this cohort.
However, PROM2 rs2278067 was found to interact with PTSD status
to influence the summed abundance of these genera ( p <
0.014). Polygenic risk scores generated using genome-wide association
study summary statistics from the PGC-PTSD Overall Freeze 2 were not
predictive of gut microbial composition in this cohort. These
preliminary results suggest a potential role for the interaction between
genetic variation and gut microbial composition in the context of PTSD,
underscoring the need for further investigation.